ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 William de
Braose's manor of Sullington was assessed for 4
hides, a reduction of 5 hides since 1066. The valuation had been reduced from £9 to £8. There were in
1086 three ploughteams on the demesne, and 20
villani and 14 bordars had six teams. The yardland
in West Easwrith hundred had a villanus and half a
team. (fn. 18) There had probably been little expansion in
the demesne arable by 1298, when Roger Covert had
112 a. at Sullington and 50 a. at Broadbridge. (fn. 19) The
earl of Arundel's demesne arable at Sullington was
assessed at 120 a. in the late 14th century and 140 a.
c. 1404. (fn. 20) There is no evidence of open fields in
Sullington, although in the 17th century the rector
held two isolated strips in the arable fields of Sullington farm. (fn. 21) In the Clayton area, however, there seem
to have been up to ten small open fields or furlongs
in 1247, including Hookmare and Holehookmare.
Common fields called Hookmare, Great Hookmare,
and the Clays were recorded there in 1765. (fn. 22)
Only 6 a. of meadow were recorded in 1086, (fn. 23) but
by 1298 there were 10 a. at Sullington and 27 a. at
Broadbridge. (fn. 24) Sullington demesne farm included
16 a. of meadow in the late 14th century, (fn. 25) but 47 a.
in 1582. (fn. 26) Common meadow at Broadmead in the
centre of the parish, recorded in 1635, (fn. 27) remained
divided into doles until 1842 (fn. 28) or later.
Rough pasture on Sullington Warren and on the
downland further south was important by the late
Middle Ages. Although pasture 'on the heath' on
Roger Covert's demesne at Sullington was only
worth 9s. in 1298, less than a quarter of the value of
the arable, by the later 14th century the 200 a. of
pasture recorded were valued at more than the arable.
That importance of pasture was reflected in the stock
kept, including 18 oxen and 20 cows, 300 wethers,
and 150 ewes. (fn. 29)
Common waste in the parish included part of
Furze and Heath commons in Thakeham manor,
inclosed in 1812, (fn. 30) possibly Sullington Warren in
the early 19th century when it was called Sullington
common, (fn. 31) and part of Broadbridge Heath, which
was shared with Drungewick manor in Wisborough
Green and was inclosed in 1858; the lord of Broadbridge received 8 a. in respect of his Sullington lands,
and three other Sullington owners had small
allotments. (fn. 32)
Roger Covert made a park at Broadbridge c.
1272. (fn. 33) By 1298 he had one at Sullington also; (fn. 34) in
the early 15th century its pasture was worth £1, (fn. 35)
but the park had evidently been disparked by 1582. (fn. 36)
In 1298 the free tenants of Sullington manor owed
54s. 2½d. in rents, the bond tenants £4 4s. 3d. and
works worth 60s. (fn. 37) Probably then as later many of
their holdings were outside the parish. In the early
15th century there were 64 holdings, including one
of land let at farm. Sheriff's aid and rents varying
from 1d. to 16s. 4d. were paid by 23 tenants, presumably freeholders; 11 tenants owed boonworks in
autumn, and of those 7 owed poultry rents and 5
owed ploughing or reaping services. One pair of
joint tenants owed both boonworks and aid. There
was little apparent relation between the burden of
rents and services and the size of tenement. Two
holdings were of 2 virgates each, though some whose
size was unspecified may have been larger; 14 were
of 1 virgate, 4 of half a virgate, 10 of between 12 and
20 a., and 19 of 10 a. or less. (fn. 38) On Broadbridge manor
the only recorded tenants in 1298 were freeholders
at Brambleden in Southwick. (fn. 39)
By the mid 16th century the customary tenures
had been converted to copyholds let variously for
lives or to the tenant and his heirs at will. (fn. 40) Apparently in 1582 there were 158 a. of copyhold and
leasehold lands in Sullington manor. They were then
outweighed in importance by the demesne farms of
Sullington and Cobden; Sullington demesne had
146 a. of arable, 183 a. of pasture, and 47 a. of
meadow, and Cobden had 169 a. of inclosed fields.
Each farm had downland pasture for 400 sheep. The
combined downland of both was 519 a. in 1604;
Cobden's inclosed fields, probably then as in the
early 19th century, were isolated in open downland. (fn. 41)
In the late 17th century those farms and Barns
farm, also in the south, pursued a sheep and corn
husbandry. Flocks of 100 to 400 sheep were kept and
folded on the arable in preparation for substantial
crops of wheat, barley, and peas, with some oats and
tares. Clover and nonsuch were grown on Barns or
Sullington farm c. 1734. There was also some dairying and fattening of cattle, and rabbits were kept on
Sullington Warren and Cobden farm. (fn. 42) Elsewhere in
the parish in the 17th and early 18th centuries farming was on a smaller scale and mixed. Thus East
Wantley farm in 1707 included 114 a. in Sullington,
of which only 28 a. was arable. Cattle keeping,
especially dairying, was usually the most important
enterprise. Pig keeping and bacon curing were common but herds were small. Several farmers kept
flocks of 30-60 sheep. A few had bees or poultry.
Arable crops grown, in order of importance, were
wheat, barley, oats, peas, tares, beans, buckwheat,
hemp and flax, and french wheat. In the earlier 17th
century a little rye was grown. (fn. 43) Richard Haines of
Wantley in 1672 obtained a monopoly for his invention of cleansing nonsuch to make it more productive. (fn. 44) Cider had evidently been an important
product in the 14th century, (fn. 45) and in the later 17th
century and early 18th at least three farms grew
apples or made cider. (fn. 46) In or before 1683 Richard
Haines also invented a method of distilling and fortifying cider and had apparently interested the Dutch,
Danish, and Swedish governments before he entered
in partnership with Henry Goring of Wappingthorn
in Steyning to seek an English patent. (fn. 47) That was
granted in 1684. (fn. 48)
The parish continued to be dominated by large
farms from the late 18th century to the 20th. In 1788
altogether 19 occupiers of 25 holdings were assessed
to the poor rate; nine tenths of the assessment, presumably reflecting land held, fell on six farmers
occupying respectively Sullington farm and the
parsonage, Barns and Clayton farms, Cobden and
Muntham, East Wantley and Northlands, Broadbridge, and West Wantley farms. (fn. 49) In 1842, of 19
estates 7 were over 100 a., the largest being those of
George Wyndham (719 a.) and G. J. Gibson (673 a.).
There were 41 occupiers, of whom twenty held under
1 a., six from 1 to 9 a., six from 10 to 99 a., and seven
over 100 a. The largest farms were still Sullington
(697 a.), Cobden (444 a.), and Barns (312 a.). (fn. 50) They
remained so in 1878; by then the acquisition of
Barns farm had made G. C. Carew-Gibson the
largest landowner. (fn. 51) In 1975 five holdings were
returned: three under 30 ha., one between 50 and
100 ha., and one between 200 and 300 ha. (fn. 52)
Heriots in kind were still exacted from tenants on
Sullington manor in 1732 (fn. 53) and from freeholders on
Broadbridge manor in the early 19th century. (fn. 54)
Sullington farm was let on lease before 1786, and
later under an agreement, presumably from year to
year, until 1837 or later. (fn. 55) At the same period, however, other landlords were granting 21-year leases. (fn. 56)
Flax was grown on one farm in 1788. (fn. 57) Stock kept
in the parish in 1801 reflected the predominance of
sheep farming and dairying: 879 sheep and lambs,
40 cows, 58 steers, heifers, and calves, 167 pigs, and
only 8 fatting oxen. (fn. 58) Crops grown in order of
importance were wheat, oats, turnips or rape, barley,
peas, beans, and potatoes. (fn. 59) In 1840 the same principal crops were grown, in 3-, 4-, or 5-course rotations, on the 805 a. mainly on or just below the downs
that were estimated as arable; 1,107 a. were meadow
or pasture, mostly of poor quality. (fn. 60) Cropping in
1875 still resembled that of 1801, except that root
crops included mangel-wurzels, that the area of
vetches or tares exceeded that of peas, and that a little
rye, cabbages, and carrots were grown, the last two
no doubt by the market gardeners mentioned from
1855 to 1905. Sheep had increased in importance;
2,928 sheep and lambs were returned in 1875 as
against 44 dairy animals and 103 other cattle. (fn. 61) An
electric milking machine was installed on Sullington
farm in 1921, and Cheddar cheese was made there. (fn. 62)
By 1950 the proportion under grass of the land
returned (which by then excluded Broadbridge) had
increased from 57 to 74 per cent, and cattle, especially
dairy cows, had eclipsed sheep; 5,131 fowls were
returned. The main crops returned were wheat and
oats. (fn. 63) By 1968 there was more arable than grass,
more barley was grown than wheat and oats together,
and dairying had increased. (fn. 64) The two largest farms
in 1975 grew mainly cereals; the other three farmers
were part-time. (fn. 65) West Wantley was a poultry farm
from c. 1921, and still in 1983. Lower Broadbridge
was a dairy farm of 110 a. in 1980. (fn. 66) In the later 19th
century G. C. Carew-Gibson maintained the Sandgate Thoroughbred Stud. It closed after an epidemic
among the horses forced its sale in 1887. (fn. 67)
William de Braose's demesne included woodland
for 30 swine in 1086. (fn. 68) The Sullington manor
demesne in 1582 included Mill and Park woods, each
of 43 a., which were used as pasture. (fn. 69) In 1735 there
were £10 worth of coppice and hedges ready for
cutting on the farm. (fn. 70) Broadbridge manor was
heavily wooded in 1632. (fn. 71) Oak trees were sold from
Sullington wood in 1768, (fn. 72) and in 1785 £225 worth
of timber stood on East Wantley farm. (fn. 73) In 1840
there were 118 a. of woodland in the parish. Nearly
half was plantations on the Sandgate and Muntham
estates; apart from the 24-a. High wood in Broadbridge, the rest was in small coppices and shaws. (fn. 74)
The Sandgate estate had in 1913 some 53 a. of woods
and plantations in Sullington, besides the 77-a. park
planted with forest trees. (fn. 75) Arthur Lloyd apparently
planted 100 a. of wood in Sullington Warren after
1895; it was dedicated in 1952. (fn. 76) Woodland survived
in the area in 1982.
There is little evidence of non-agricultural occupations until the 20th century. A saltern attached to
Broadbridge manor in 1298 was at Upper Beeding; (fn. 77)
the saltcot of Sullington manor in the early 15th century was probably at Southwick, where the manor
had tenements. (fn. 78) A wool merchant was assessed to
the subsidy in Sullington in 1296, and another in
1327 and 1332. (fn. 79) In 1341 one inhabitant was a craftsman or trader. (fn. 80) The ironmaster Roger Gratwicke
lived there (presumably at Broadbridge) in 1574, (fn. 81)
but his business was elsewhere. (fn. 82) A Sullington
bricklayer, i.e. brickmaker, was recorded c. 1573. (fn. 83)
A tailor of Sullington died in or before 1614. (fn. 84)
Richard Haines patented a spinning engine for linen
and worsted thread in 1678, (fn. 85) and there was a
weaver's shop in the parish in 1736. (fn. 86) A Sullington
cordwainer was recorded in 1738, (fn. 87) and a hosier in
1785. (fn. 88) Tradesmen in 1851 included two carpenters
in Sullington, and a bricklayer at Clayton. (fn. 89)
From the 1920s, with the break-up of the Sandgate estate, sandworking (fn. 90) became the parish's principal industry. The Three Gates sandpit started
working in 1924. A sandpit at Clayton, mainly
within Washington, was acquired by Hall & Co. c.
1930, later passing to RMC Engineering (fn. 91) which was
using part as a repair works in 1983; about a third of
the pit had been filled in by then. West of it was
Amey's pit, which was worked out c. 1980 and was
used in 1983 as a storage depot. A larger pit, opened
near the site of Sandgate House in 1947, was still
working in 1983, when Hall Aggregates South Coast
Ltd. and RMC Mortars Ltd. had offices in the
western part. West of Water Lane was the Angel
sandpit, worked from the 1930s and used until 1968
for manufacturing concrete blocks and related products and between 1968 and 1972 as a motor repair
works. (fn. 92) In 1983 it was a storage depot. South of
Washington Road and east of Chantry Lane another
sandpit was opened by Frank Knight in the 1920s for
making sand and cement blocks. It had passed by
1956 to Marley Tile Co. Ltd., who made concrete
products. (fn. 93) Marley Trident Ltd. were the occupiers
in 1983.
There was a mill on Sullington manor in 1086. (fn. 94)
In 1298 two watermills and a windmill were recorded, valued at 40s. together, (fn. 95) but by c. 1404 only
one watermill survived, then let to a tenant for 22s. (fn. 96)
It was presumably the mill of which Richard Mill
had a lease at his death in 1476, and which he settled
in trust to pay his debts. (fn. 97) It was probably Chantry
mill, on the western boundary, and appears to have
descended with Mill's Cobden estate to John Apsley
of Pulborough, who sold 'Chantry lands' to John
Wase in 1556; Nicholas Wase sold it to Henry
Shelley, and the site was mentioned as an old mill
garden in 1582. (fn. 98) The name Chantry mill has been
applied to two mills, one on the present site of
Chantry Mill house, the other on the site of Waterfall
Cottage upstream and to the south. At least one was
working in the earlier 18th century (fn. 99) and in 1774. (fn. 1)
About 1780 there were two watermills: Chantry mill
on the site of the later Waterfall Cottage, and Park
mill on the downstream site. (fn. 2) Chantry mill passed
with Sullington farm from Sir John Shelley to
George Wyndham, Lord Egremont, and may have
been used before 1825 as a fulling mill. (fn. 3) By 1806
Park mill was apparently disused, although it was
mentioned c. 1830. (fn. 4) Between 1806 and 1842 Chantry
mill was transferred to the Park mill site and the old
Chantry mill closed. (fn. 5) The mill on the northern site
seems to have remained in continuous use as a corn
mill until c. 1918. After two or three years' disuse, it
served briefly to supply electricity. (fn. 6)
Waterfall Cottage is a building of c. 1700. Traces
of the mill race, on the east side, survived in 1983.
Chantry Mill house includes a two-bayed range of
c. 1600 with a smoke bay into which a chimney was
later inserted. It was extended northwards probably
in the late 17th century, and a parallel west range was
added in the 18th or early 19th. The mill itself stands
to the south-east and is partly stone and partly
timber-framed, dating probably from c. 1700. The
machinery was removed in the early 1970s to the
Open Air Museum at Singleton. (fn. 7) The mill pond,
dam, and drained mill race survived in 1983.
A watermill stood at Broadbridge in 1298; (fn. 8) it was
not mentioned again until 1695, when the Caffyn
family occupied it. (fn. 9) The machinery was removed c.
1950 and the mill was demolished c. 1969. (fn. 10) The
mill pond remained in 1979.
The windmill mentioned in 1298 had evidently
disappeared by the late 14th century. (fn. 11) A post and
trestle windmill was built on Sullington Warren in
the late 18th century and let generally with Chantry
mill until it ceased working in 1907. It was burnt
down in 1911; the iron windshaft remained in 1980. (fn. 12)
The firm of T. Gatley, corn millers, was grinding
animal feed electrically on the former army camp
north of Barns Farm in the 1980s. (fn. 13)